2013 Cadillac Escalade Platinum. The luxury SUV will be redesigned for the 2014 model year. / General Motors

Detroit Free Press Business Writer

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General Motors today offered a few clues on its strategy for the redesigned Cadillac Escalade sport-utility vehicle, which will hit showrooms in spring 2014.

The automaker showed off the redesigned SUV to business partners in an event at the Milford Proving Ground that was not open to media.

“There’s more space inside, making it larger inside but not making it bigger outside,” said Bob Ferguson, vice president of global Cadillac, according to an audio feed of the event. “We used authentic materials, elegant design, precise quality.”

The vehicle is expected to be revealed publicly in the second half of the year.

“Escalade’s really important for us,” Ferguson said. “It’s important for us to reclaim leadership in the elite class of large luxury SUVs. Escalade is always very bold and iconic but in this next generation it’s going to become more artistic, more sophisticated.”

The Escalade’s arrival comes as Cadillac is posting huge sales gains on the strength of the new ATS and XTS sedans. In the fall, GM will release a redesigned version of the CTS sedan, which was revealed at the New York Auto Show in April. It will also start selling an electric coupe called the ELR, which is based on the same power train technology as the Chevrolet Volt, in early 2014.

Cadillac sales rose 37% through May.

“The growth and expansion we’re in the midst of can make a very significant contribution” to GM’s profitability, Ferguson said. “In fact, we feel we’re at the center of the company’s business plan and right now we’re delivering.”